Is Perry Planning Presidential Run?
AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - There is speculation that Texas Governor Rick Perry will run for President of the United States. The talk has been fueled by comments that Perry made just hours after he was re-elected to his third term here in Texas on Tuesday. Perry easily sailed into re-election by tapping into the growing anger against Washington and President Barack Obama's policies.
But now, Perry is going from campaign script to manuscript. Before he declared victory on Election Night, Perry released his new book, in which he rails against the federal government. "Our citizens are tired of big government," Perry told a crowd after his Tuesday re-election. "In short, the people are fed up."
Not coincidentally, the title of Perry's book is also "Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America From Washington." And now, just days after his re-election, Perry is setting out on a national book tour.
Speculation has been growing that Perry may run for President in 2012, despite the fact that Perry himself has repeatedly denied this talk. "I think he's running," said Boyd Richie, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. "He's got the national book tour kicking off. According to reports, he's doing polling in Iowa. What should that tell you?"
Perry's pollster later told CBS 11 News that Perry has not done any polling in any state for 2012.
After winning the election on Tuesday, Perry is now in New York City, where he is scheduled to do a series of interviews with network news programs. From there, he heads to Washington, the same city that he just spent time campaigning against.
Perry appeared on NBC's "Today" show on Thursday morning, where he said that voters sent a clear message in this week's midterm elections that there is too much government. The Republican governor said that his party's return to a majority in the House, and its gains in the Senate, indicate that voters "want [their] freedoms back."
"I think Republicans just need to listen to the people," Perry said. "And people were very clear on Tuesday night. We've got more government than we can pay for. Pare it back."
When pressed about a run for the presidency, Perry said that his zeal against big government, exemplified in his book, was a good signal that it would not happen. "Anyone running for the presidency is not going to go take on these issues with the power that I do," Perry said.
James Henson is a political science professor at the University of Texas. He has spoken with some political operatives and they believe that Perry should consider running for President. "I think it's hard to imagine -- looking at how the Governor has carried himself, the book is released after the election -- to think that he's not at least thinking about it," Henson said.
Even if he does not run for the White House, Henson said, the book will likely raise Perry's national profile.
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